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Tasty Tangy Shrimp Tostadas

By Kirstin Uhrenholdt and Laurie David

Here is a great, quick dinner with no “cooking” involved. Just throw all the ingredients together and put them in bowls on the table. Let your family “stack” their own tostadas. Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients

For the Citrus Shrimp

1 pound cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
½ cup fresh lime juice
½ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup chopped red onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped red pepper
1 tablespoon minced jalapeño, seeds and white pith removed (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint and cilantro (optional)

For the Cabbage Salad

½ small white cabbage, finely shredded
1 small jicama or 1 medium-size seeded hothouse cucumber, peeled and cut into matchsticks
½ cup seasoned rice vinegar
Chopped fresh mint and cilantro (optional)

For the Fixings

Guacamole (store-bought or see page 134 in The Family Dinner)
Salsa (store-bought or see page 133 The Family Dinner)
Tostada shells (the flat kind) or tortilla chips
Limes, cut in half
Cilantro
Hot sauce
A drizzle of Mexican crema or sour cream

Materials

Pick out interesting bowls for the fixings and fill them.

Directions

Mix all the ingredients for the citrus shrimp together in a bowl and put this into the fridge for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes. In the meantime, mix together all the ingredients for the cabbage salad, and make the guacamole.

To make your own, put the shrimp, cabbage salad, and fixings in separate bowls. Let everyone make their own tostadas.

Or, if you want to plate the tostadas, put a tostada shell or a handful of tortilla chips on a plate for each per¬son. Top with the cabbage salad, then a layer of the shrimp, a dollop of guacamole, some tomatillo or tomato salsa, a jauntily placed sprig of cilantro, and half a lime on the side. Serve and enjoy.

Cook's Tip:

Should you buy shrimp fresh or frozen? If you can get local fresh shrimp, you are very lucky. Buy them. However, most shrimp you see in the market have been frozen and defrosted. There is nothing wrong with that, but why let the fishmonger defrost them (who knows how long ago that was) when you can do it yourself? If you want to cook shrimp that is still frozen, bring a big pot of water to a boil. Salt it; you can also add a few bay leaves and some lemon slices. Throw the still-frozen shrimp into the pot. Just as soon as the water starts to boil again, take the pot off the heat, and when the shrimp are pink and curled—this should take 2 to 3 minutes more— they will be done.

Green Tip:

Whatever kind of seafood you are buying, it is always a good idea to go to www.montereybayaquarium.org and check whether your seafood was sustainably caught or responsibly grown. Not only because you want to take care of the sea and its creatures, but also to educate yourself, so you choose fish that has the least amount of mercury, and to protect your family from seafood that has been fed funky food and medications.

Excerpted from The Family Dinner by Laurie David — Grand Central Publishing (2010).

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